Conductor
Jirí Belohlávek fashioned a successful international career in both the concert hall and on the operatic stage. While he became identified with Czech repertory, particularly the works of
Smetana,
Dvorák,
Janácek,
Suk,
Martinu,
Ostrcil, and Fibich, he conducted a fairly broad range of other repertory. He served in prestigious posts with major orchestras, including the
Czech Philharmonic,
Brno State Philharmonic,
Prague Symphony, and
BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Belohlávek was known for his ability to achieve effective balances in the orchestral sound fabric, as well as for precision and a sense for not imposing eccentricity or waywardness on the score.
Belohlávek appeared on more than 100 recordings spread over a variety of labels, including
Supraphon, DG, Chandos, Warner Classics, Harmonia Mundi, Arthaus Musik, and Eurodisc.
Jirí Belohlávek was born in Prague on February 24, 1946. He studied cello early on and enrolled at the Prague Conservatory and at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague for studies in both cello and conducting. His most important conducting teacher was
Sergiu Celibidache, whom he assisted for two years in Stockholm, where
Celibidache was conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Belohlávek served as an assistant conductor for the Czech Philharmonic (1970-1972). From 1972-1978 he conducted the Brno State Philharmonic, and from 1978-1989 he served as chief conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra.
Belohlávek succeeded
Vaclav Neumann as conductor of the
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, serving from 1990-1992. In 1994
Belohlávek founded the
Prague Philharmonia and the following year was appointed principal guest conductor of the
BBC Symphony Orchestra, serving until 2000.
Belohlávek debuted at the Met in 2004 with
Janácek's Káta Kabanová. In 2005
Belohlávek was appointed chief conductor of
BBC Symphony Orchestra.
The busy final decade of
Belohlávek's life saw him building on the international recognition he had attained and gaining a reputation as one of the most profound interpreters of Central European music. Composers he championed during this period included
Mahler, whom he considered a Czech (
Mahler was born in the Bohemian town of Kaliště). His cycle of
Mahler symphonies with the
BBC Symphony, performed and recorded at the rate of one per year, won critical acclaim, as did his readings of the very different work of
Bohuslav Martinu. Equally at home in the opera pit, in front of a choir, and in symphonic repertory,
Belohlávek conducted
Dvorák's Rusalka at Britain's Glyndebourne Festival in 2009. After an 18-year interval, he was reappointed conductor of the
Czech Philharmonic in 2012, continuing to appear with the
Prague Philharmonia as well. In 2017 the
Czech Philharmonic, despite the fact the
Belohlávek was under treatment for cancer, extended his contract through 2021. He made his last appearances in London (conducting
Dvorák's Requiem in B flat minor, Op. 89) and Prague just a month before his death on June 1, 2017, in Prague. His shattering recording of Dvorák's Stabat Mater, Op. 58, had reached the top levels of classical sales charts just days earlier.